Preston Swan takes on acting COO role

Monday 1 February 2021: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) today announces that Preston Swan is taking on the role of acting chief operating officer. Alongside his leadership role at Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute (MWI), where he has served as vice president of MWI clinical operations for the last three years, Mr Swan will take over responsibility for Facilities Management, Security, Estates and Property Management, and Hotel Services (which includes Laundry, Environmental Services and Dietary).

These departments were previously the responsibility of Scott Pearman when he was chief operating officer. As Mr Pearman recently assumed responsibility for a number of BHB strategic projects in his new role as deputy CEO, Mr Swan is taking executive leadership for these critical operational areas of BHB. He will report to CEO & President Michael Richmond, MD.

Mr Swan joined BHB in 1989 as a mental health nurse. He worked on various mental health wards and was promoted to the position of unit coordinator in 1993. In 1996, he was promoted to the position of clinical coordinator of the Community Homes Programme, and in 2004 to the post of clinical director of Turning Point Substance Abuse Programme. Mr Swan held this position until late 2008, when he became vice president of Quality & Risk Management. In 2017, he was appointed vice president of clinical operations at MWI.

Mr Swan trained as a registered mental nurse at the Sussex Downs School of Nursing in England. In 1992, he undertook further training at the Sheffield School of Nursing in England, gaining three ENBs in developments in mental handicap nursing, teaching and assessment in clinical practice, and care in the community. In 2008 he achieved a Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. Mr Swan also serves as a director of the Bermuda Mental Health Foundation.

Dr Richmond comments: “BHB believes in the leadership potential of its staff, and our succession plan identifies the people ready for development opportunities, for stronger and more experienced leaders. I’m very pleased that Preston has agreed to take on a number of executive leadership responsibilities alongside his responsibilities at MWI.

“BHB is working incredibly hard to manage the pandemic response, encourage vaccination, improve care and quality, and develop a new strategic plan that will guide the continued development of our services. Preston will be a valued addition to the team at a very challenging time.”

New year’s baby makes a late appearance

Wednesday 6 January 2021: The first baby of 2021 has finally arrived at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) to parents Danielle Pacheco and Daniel Hayward.

Staff of the Maternity Unit welcomed the little girl at 1:40pm yesterday, 5 January 2021. Kalysta Rayne Hayward weighed in at 6lb 2oz.

Last year’s first baby arrived promptly on New Year’s Day 2020 at 7:58am.

Road closure at KEMH on 27 July

Friday 24 July 2020: Bermuda Hospitals Board advises the public of a temporary road closure scheduled for Monday 27 July 2020 on the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) campus. The closure will affect vehicular traffic from approximately 8am to 6pm.

A crane will be positioned on the KEMH through road between the ambulance bays and the General Wing lobby from 8am, necessitating the closure of that section of the KEMH road until approximately 6pm.

During this period, emergency vehicles and people attending the Emergency Department should use the Point Finger Road entrance. Ambulances will enter and exit on Point Finger Road.

KEMH and the visitor parking lots will remain accessible from both Point Finger Road (Acute Care Wing) and Berry Hill Road (General Wing and Agape House). Traffic will not be able to travel between the General Wing lobby roundabout and Point Finger Road.

For your safety and the safety of others, please use caution and adhere to the barriers and signage.

Bermuda Hospitals Board apologises to the public for any inconvenience caused by the disruption.

KEMH Road Closure Map – 27Jul2020

Road closure and traffic interruptions on 26 May at KEMH

Sunday 24 May 2020: Bermuda Hospitals Board advises the public of a temporary road closure scheduled for Tuesday 26 May 2020 on the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) campus. The closure will affect both vehicular and pedestrian through traffic from approximately 6:30pm until midnight.

To facilitate the replacement of some of the beds in the KEMH General Wing and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, a container will travel to the KEMH site, interrupting the flow of traffic along Point Finger Road from approximately 5:30pm to 6:30pm on Tuesday.

The container will be positioned on the KEMH through road between the ambulance bays and the General Wing lobby from 6:30pm, necessitating the closure of that section of the KEMH road until approximately midnight.

During this period, emergency vehicles and people attending the Emergency Department should use the Point Finger Road entrance. Ambulances will enter and exit on Point Finger Road.

KEMH and the visitor parking lots will remain accessible from both Point Finger Road (Acute Care Wing) and Berry Hill Road (General Wing and Agape House). Traffic will not be able to travel between the General Wing lobby roundabout and Point Finger Road.

For your safety and the safety of others, please use caution and adhere to the barriers, signage and directions of the security officers.

Bermuda Hospitals Board apologises to the public for any inconvenience caused by the disruption.

KEMH Road Closure Map – 26May2020

BHB releases internal management accounts data

Tuesday 18 February 2020: BHB is releasing internal management accounts data from fiscal year 2017, up to and including the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, the latest quarter available. These represent the data shared with staff and the Board, but are unaudited. BHB will continue to provide internal management accounts data quarterly and update information online, as BHB does with its quarterly posting of quality patient safety data, annual plan of projects, statistics by fiscal year and patient satisfaction data by fiscal year.

Additional resources that are already on BHB’s website and can provide additional background to some or all of the years include details of projects, statistics and strategy documents developed:

• BHB statistics are posted by fiscal year, and figures for the fiscal years listed can be found here: https://bermudahospitals.bm/about-us/news-media/bhb-statistics/
• Quality and patient satisfaction data can be found here. Quality data has been posted since 2018, and patient satisfaction data from 2012-2019: https://bermudahospitals.bm/about-us/about-us/quality-and-patient-satisfaction/
• Strategy documents mentioned in this report, along with the annual plan of projects for each fiscal year from 2016/17, can be found here: https://bermudahospitals.bm/about-us/about-us/vision-and-strategy/

Update on the current status of BHB’s auditing process since early February 2020:

• BHB’s 2015 Annual Report has been submitted to the Ministry of Health to start the legislative process.
• The audit for the 2016 Financial Statements was signed off by the Auditor General last week.
• BHB is pleased to note that both fiscal years have received unqualified audits.
• The 2016 financial statements are being presented to BHB’s Finance & Audit Subcommittee this month, after which the annual report will be laid out with a management report.
• Focus will now be on completing the auditing process for fiscal years 2017 to 2019.

Overview of internal management accounts data for full fiscal years 2017 to 2019:

Comparing the three full fiscal years between 2017 and 2019, total revenue rose from $324.7 million to $329.8 million between fiscal year 2017 and 2019, a rise of $5.1 million or 1.5% over three years. The dip in revenue for 2018 represents a one-off $25 million cut in hospital subsidy.

Total expenses rose from $316.8 million to $329.0 million over this time period, representing $13 million or 3.9% in total.

A substantial increase was experienced in repairs and maintenance, which increased from $18.9 million to $26.9 million, which is 42% or $8 million. This reflects the increasing cost of keeping the ageing KEMH General Wing and MWI facilities safe for patient care. Salaries and benefits, which includes overtime and the costs of casual staff, as well as regular salaries, rose 3% from $188.7 million to $194.3 million.

In the fiscal years 2017-19, BHB revenue was substantially made up of fee-for-service charges, with the addition of an MWI grant and a partial grant for long-term care. In June 2019, BHB moved to a fixed government grant of $322 million.

Achievements over the three years included:

• Launch of a five-year BHB strategic plan in 2016/17, and the commitment to the triple aim of improving patient outcomes, improving patient satisfaction and reducing the per capita cost of care.
• Development and publishing of a Clinical Services Plan in 2018 to address improving the health and care of Bermuda’s community, with better community management of chronic illness and a stronger safety net after discharge, to reducing the need for expensive hospital services.
• Development of a four-year Financial Recovery Plan to manage a $25 million cut in hospital subsidy in 2017/18, which was revised in 2018/2019 due to the expectation of the fixed income agreement which was implemented in June 2019.
• Initiation of a Service Improvement Programme, with the support of KPMG, to improve effectiveness and efficiency of clinical and administrative processes.
• Collaborative partnership entered into with the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, to train and support clinical staff in working on quality improvement projects.
• Clinical agreement entered into with Johns Hopkins in 2019.

Management Account Figures (Unaudited) FY2017 – Q3 FY2020

BHB seeks students for 2020 summer programme

Monday 6 January 2020: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) is now accepting employment applications for its 2020 Summer Student Programme.

BHB aims to ensure the highest quality healthcare through service excellence, education and leadership.

Director of Learning and Talent Development Kendra-Lee Pearman, PhD, said: “If you are Bermudian, highly motivated and currently attending college or university, we encourage you to join our family of experienced professionals for the summer months.

“Continuing our goal of building a healthy community and strong partnerships, the Summer Student Programme is an excellent way for students to gain hands-on experience in their area of study while creating a talent pipeline for BHB. We encourage students pursuing both clinical and non-clinical studies, including information technology, finance, engineering, trades and human resources, to apply.”

All applicants must be at least 18 years old at the time of employment, have completed at least one year of study at an accredited college or university, and have a Bermuda Social Insurance Number.

Nursing students must have started their clinical rotation. Allied health students must have been accepted into an approved occupational therapy, physical therapy or dietetics programme. Medical students must be entering at least their third year of study.

The application deadline for BHB’s Summer Student Programme is Friday 28 February 2020. All applications must be made online in the Jobs Now section of BHB’s website at bdahospitaldev.wpengine.com, by clicking on ‘Work at BHB’ and selecting ‘Student’ as the job category. Potential applicants can email any questions to ltd@bhb.bm.

BHB notes that successful applicants will be subject to a drug test.

Road closure and traffic interruptions at KEMH on 9 December

Thursday 5 December 2019: Bermuda Hospitals Board advises the public of a temporary road closure scheduled for Monday 9 December 2019 on the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) campus. The closure will affect both vehicular and pedestrian through traffic from approximately 6pm Monday until 1am Tuesday.

To facilitate the replacement of beds in the KEMH General Wing, a container will travel to the KEMH site, interrupting the flow of traffic along Point Finger Road from approximately 5:30pm to 6pm on Monday.

The container will be positioned on the KEMH through road between the ambulance bays and the General Wing lobby from 6pm, necessitating the closure of that section of the KEMH road until approximately 1am.

During this period, emergency vehicles and people attending the Emergency Department should use the Point Finger Road entrance. Ambulances will enter and exit on Point Finger Road.

KEMH and the visitor parking lots will still be accessible from both Point Finger Road (Acute Care Wing) and Berry Hill Road (General Wing and Agape House). Traffic will not be able to travel between the General Wing lobby roundabout and Point Finger Road.

For your safety and the safety of others, please use caution and adhere to the barriers, signage and directions of the security officers.

Bermuda Hospitals Board apologises to the public for any inconvenience caused by the disruption.

KEMH Road Closure Map – 9 December 2019